Type conversion, also known as type casting, refers to the process of converting one data type to another. In C++, type conversion can occur implicitly or explicitly.

1. Implicit Type Conversion:

Implicit type conversion, also known as automatic type conversion, occurs automatically by the compiler when it is safe and does not result in loss of data. It is performed when a value of one data type is assigned to a variable of another compatible data type.

Implicit type conversion can happen in the following scenarios:

- When assigning a value of a smaller data type to a variable of a larger data type.

- When performing arithmetic operations involving different data types.

Example:

int num = 5;

double result = num; // Implicit conversion from int to double

In this example, the value of the ‘num’ variable, which is an ‘int’, is implicitly converted to a ‘double’ when assigning it to the ‘result’ variable.

2. Explicit Type Conversion:

Explicit type conversion, also known as type casting, involves manually converting a value from one data type to another. It is done by the programmer using casting operators to specify the desired type conversion.

Explicit type conversion can be done in two ways:

- C-style casting: This is a traditional way of casting and involves using the syntax ‘(type) expression’. It allows casting between compatible types, but it is less type-safe than the other method.

- Static_cast: This is a safer type of casting introduced in C++. It performs compile-time checks and prevents potentially unsafe conversions.

Syntax for explicit type conversion using C-style casting:

(type) expression

Syntax for explicit type conversion using static_cast:

static_cast(expression)

Example:

double num = 3.14;

int result1 = (int)num; // Explicit conversion using C-style casting

int result2 = static_cast(num); // Explicit conversion using static_cast

In this example, the ‘num’ variable, which is a ‘double’, is explicitly converted to an ‘int’ using both C-style casting and static_cast. The resulting value is truncated to an integer.

It's important to note that explicit type conversion should be used with caution. Improper or unsafe type conversions can lead to unexpected results or loss of data. Care should be taken to ensure that the conversion is valid and necessary for the specific programming requirements.